Tan Le: My immigration story

Tan Le immigrated from China to Australia at the age of four with her mother, grandmother, and younger sister.  She is living proof that the statement "It can't be done." holds no weight and that it can, in fact be done.  The constants in Le's life have been the women- the ones who have never left her side and have driven her to success.  Le tells a story of adversity and how she welcomes the presence of obstacles in her life.

Le is now a social activist; she speaks about unemployment and the neglect of the marginalized
and the disenfranchised.  Her mom worked double shifts six days a week.  The three of them shared the same bed, and each night, though they were exhausted, told each other the stories of their day.

Le's mother was 22, in an arranged marriage, and the mother of two girls when they got in the small boat disguised as a fishing vessel and set out for a new life in Australia.  The adults on the boat carried poison to drink in the event that they were captured by pirates.  They made it to Australia safely and lived in a refugee camp for three months and then settling in Footscray, a working-class suburb populated by immigrants. Tan Le struggled to make the transition from immigrant in Footscray to public speaker and graduate of law school.

Tan Le's message is so powerful because she evokes emotion in her audience; she uses pathos. Though her story extends far beyond just her struggles as a young girl immigrating to a new country, these are the parts of the story that really capture the audience's attention.  Le tells the story of her grandfather saying "his life had been a complete waste" and he died "broken by history."  If that doesn't make a person feel remorse or pity, I don't know what would.  However, Le uses this to serve as a contrast and to demonstrate the motivation behind how she lives her life.  She says, "yes, history tried to crush us, but we endured," which shows her pride and draws in the audience.  Tan Le also uses imagery and metaphor keep the audience engaged throughout.  She uses the idea of a jigsaw puzzle and the boat as a symbol to display the bonds created by the women in her family and how her life is ever evolving.  Her memories are of the "steady beat of the engine, the bow dipping into each wave, the vast and empty horizon."  It makes the audience relate to the fear that she experienced because of the unknown, and people fear the unknown.  She brings up the boat when she discusses privilege.  As she discusses a new chapter in her life, she relates it to a jigsaw puzzle: " I was catapulted from one piece of the jigsaw to another, and their edges didn't fit."  Le uses a common item to make the audience better understand her story and how she felt out of place in different stages of her life.

Tan Le also uses ethos to convey her point.  She is a reputable speaker because she has lived the life of an immigrant.  Her expertise is conveyed through discussing details of her journey and her mother and grandmother's lives.  The audience believes her story because of her emotional investment in it.

Now why this Ted Talk?  I am always inspired by people who use their life experiences and what they have learned to help others.  I thought that this would be a tough story to listen to, a typical immigration story.  However, she only brings in stories of her struggles to draw in her audience, not to make them feel sorry for her.  I was amazed by the contrast between her early life and her mentality going through life.  It makes me wonder how I would feel if I had to abandon everything I know and start a new life.  Would I make the best of it, or would I throw myself a pity party?  I like to think I'd overcome the obstacles use my experience for the better, but I don't know that for sure.  It makes me realize how lucky I am, and, honestly, that I am slacking!  Tan Le teaches that the women in her life have made her who she is and that privilege doesn't make us who we are, adversity does.  Maybe Lady Macbeth and Macbeth could've taken a page from her book (instead of other people's lives)!               

From an overall and superficial standpoint, Barbara Stanwyck's character is portrayed as a gold-digging, manipulating, home-wrecking, attractive and irresistible woman.  Double Indemnity is a typical film noir, as it is centered around an initially honorable male character who meets a seductive, attractive woman with her own dark agenda.  It almost seems too easy how Phyllis is able to get Walter to fall for her. Essentially, she is an object of desire, from the moment that Walter enters her house, and she is shown in only a towel with a glittering anklet on her bare leg to the end when Mr. Seketti comes to the house in hopes of finally being with her.

Phyllis is presented in a very stereotypical feminine way; she wears skirts and dresses that flatter her figure, her hair is always perfectly curled, and lipstick graces her lips.  She is often shown in seductive lighting; it is softer and brighter when she is in the picture.  The lighting also enhances the shadows in the scene, which creates a suspenseful mood. Phyllis is often shot from the side or straight on, and the light seems to fall over her face. When she is trying to seduce Walter, such as when she first invited him back to the house, she tends to be positioned lounging on a chair and is shot from the side, as to showcase her seductive nature.  The contrast with the bright lighting and the eerie mood is a representation of Phyllis's duality.  She appears to be this soft, desirable woman, but her personality is dark.

I found it hard to judge Phyllis's character until when Lola revealed that Phyllis had killed her mother. At first, she seems like a bored housewife who just wants relief from her husband who does not seem to value her.  I feel bad for her in that aspect.  However, she seems to lose all sense of morality when the money becomes involved.  Though Walter is the one who creates the plan and insists that it be put into action, Phyllis is the driving force behind the whole operation.  A good, moral person does not orchestrate the killing of two people for money.

Phyllis tends to portray herself as vulnerable when she is around Walter in order to get him to do what she wants, constantly bringing up how miserable she is with her husband and how she needs help.  She also uses a mix of playing hard to get and being aggressive to keep him interested.  The first time he meets her, she plays hard to get, but then later invites herself over to his apartment.  Phyllis lets Walter come up with the plan and volunteer himself to help her so that he seems as though he is in control, but she is Lady Macbething him so hard!  She is manipulating him to get what she wants.

Double Indemnity. along with other films in the film noir genre, shows that women in the 1940s were viewed as objects of desire who use their looks to achieve their goals.  They have the ability to corrupt good, honest men.  However, this film also shows that women were viewed as inferior and vulnerable. While Phyllis derives her desired end result, Walter (the man) is the mastermind with the plot, showing that he is the smarter one.  Phyllis comes off as incredibly vulnerable in the end when she throws herself at Walter in hopes of living.  Walter is the one who kills her in the end, though, a way of exerting male dominance.